Is Mitochondrial Donation Germ-Line Gene Therapy? Classifications and Ethical Implications

The classification of techniques used in mitochondrial donation, including their role as purported germ-line gene therapies, is far from clear. These techniques exhibit characteristics typical of a variety of classifications that have been used in both scientific and bioethics scholarship. This rais...

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Autori: Newson, Ainsley J. (Autore) ; Wrigley, Anthony ca. 20./21. Jh. (Autore)
Tipo di documento: Elettronico Articolo
Lingua:Inglese
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Pubblicazione: Wiley-Blackwell [2017]
In: Bioethics
Anno: 2017, Volume: 31, Fascicolo: 1, Pagine: 55-67
Notazioni IxTheo:NCH Etica della medicina
Altre parole chiave:B Ethics
B Gene Therapy
B germ-line
B genetic modification
B Identity
B mitochondrial donation
B mitochondrial replacement
B mitochondrial disease
Accesso online: Volltext (Verlag)
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Riepilogo:The classification of techniques used in mitochondrial donation, including their role as purported germ-line gene therapies, is far from clear. These techniques exhibit characteristics typical of a variety of classifications that have been used in both scientific and bioethics scholarship. This raises two connected questions, which we address in this paper: (i) how should we classify mitochondrial donation techniques?; and (ii) what ethical implications surround such a classification? First, we outline how methods of genetic intervention, such as germ-line gene therapy, are typically defined or classified. We then consider whether techniques of mitochondrial donation fit into these, whether they might do so with some refinement of these categories, or whether they require some other approach to classification. To answer the second question, we discuss the relationship between classification and several key ethical issues arising from mitochondrial donation. We conclude that the properties characteristic of mitochondrial inheritance mean that most mitochondrial donation techniques belong to a new sub-class of genetic modification, which we call ‘conditionally inheritable genomic modification’ (CIGM).
ISSN:1467-8519
Comprende:Enthalten in: Bioethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12312